Eli Lilly and Company has signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, a developer of molecular imaging compounds intended for the detection and monitoring of chronic human diseases.
Avid’s program in development is florbetapir F 18 (18F-AV-45), a molecular imaging agent under investigation for detecting the presence of amyloid plaque in the brain.
The acquisition of Avid provides Lilly with a diagnostics development platform covering several disease areas, including Parkinson’s disease and diabetes.
Under the terms of the agreement, Lilly will acquire all outstanding shares of Avid for an upfront payment of $300m, subject to adjustment based on existing cash on hand at closing.
Avid stockholders will also be eligible for up to $500m in additional payments contingent upon potential future regulatory and commercial milestones for florbetapir.
Lilly chairman and CEO John Lechleiter said that the acquisition of Avid Radiopharmaceuticals aligns well with Lilly’s innovation-based strategy, offers a potential near-term revenue opportunity, leverages neuroscience expertise and will immediately bolster their diagnostics capabilities.
“We look forward to partner with Avid’s experts during the regulatory process for florbetapir, and are intent on gaining FDA approval for the diagnostic intended to help clinicians and researchers identify the presence of beta-amyloid plaque in the brain,” Lechleiter said.
Lilly Diagnostics Research and Development vice president Tiffany Olson said that the acquisition of Avid supports their efforts to provide patients and physicians with diagnostics that enable speed of intervention, improve diagnosis accuracy and inform therapeutic choice.
“In addition to florbetapir, we look forward to supporting the continued clinical development of Avid’s earlier-phase diagnostics pipeline,” Olson said.